October 22nd, 2021 is a very special date for all Cradle of Filth fans. That day the British extreme metallers are going to release their new, 13th studio album. It will be titled “Existence is Futile”, it will be out via Nuclear Blast and it will include 12 new songs, with a total playing time of 54 minutes. Pieced together in isolation, at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk with studio guru Scott Atkins (Devilment, Benediction, Vader), “Existence Is Futile” is a pitch-black, perverse and at times absurdly brutal and extreme masterpiece following a truly nihilistic concept:
“The album is about existentialism, existential dread and fear of the unknown,” Dani Filth explained. “The concept wasn’t created by the pandemic. We’d written it long before that began, but the pandemic is the tip of the cotton-bud as far as the way the world is headed, you know? I guess the title, ‘Existence Is Futile’, does sound a little morbid. But again, it’s more about recognizing that truth and saying that everything is permitted because nothing really matters, which mimics the occultist Aleister Crowley’s maxim. We all know we’re going to die, so we might as well indulge life while we possess it. The final track on the album — ‘Us, Dark, Invincible’ — really drives that point home. Also, the artwork for this record was created by the Latvian visionary Arthur Berzinsh, who also dressed the last two albums, and that reeks of the exceedingly beautiful yet apocalyptic too.”
Diehard fans will be thrilled to learn that horror icon Doug “Pinhead” Bradley makes a welcome return to the Cradle fold, lending his dulcet tones to the band’s most politically astute song to date, the epic “Suffer Our Dominion” as well as the album bonus track “Sisters Of The Mist”, which is the conclusion to the “Her Ghost In The Fog” trilogy that started over 20 years ago on the infamous and classic “Midian”.
Tracklisting
1. The Fate Of The World On Our Shoulders
2. Existential Terror
3. Necromantic Fantasies
4. Crawling King Chaos
5. Here Comes A Candle… (Infernal Lullaby)
6. Black Smoke Curling From The Lips Of War
7. Discourse Between A Man And His Soul
8. The Dying Of The Embers
9. Ashen Mortality
10. How Many Tears To Nurture A Rose?
11. Suffer Our Dominion
12. Us, Dark, Invincible
Sisters Of The Mist (Bonus track)
Unleash The Hellion (Bonus track)
The official music video for the disc’s second single, “Necromantic Fantasies”, can be seen below. Directed by Vicente Cordero, this clip was shot back to back with his previous work for the band, the horribly apocalyptic “Crawling King Chaos”, though both are remarkably contrasting.
Dani stated: “This is a very different video from its predecessor, sporting more of a narrative amid leaning back toward a dark Victorian gothic vibe, showcasing the second of many unique tracks on this, our 13th album. It’s very cinematic, much like ‘Crawling King Chaos’, but walking a much more ‘dark faerytale’ path. The director Vicente has done such an amazing job bringing the storyline together with the band and the incredible sets. It looks gorgeous. And the song is pretty good too!”.
